Senate unlikely to block arms sale to Israel amid Gaza conflict
The Biden administration aims to provide Israel with additional bomb guidance systems.
Lawmakers in the US Senate are unlikely to block a $735 million sale of smart-bomb guidance systems for Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Gaza as a Thursday deadline approaches, Al-Monitor has learned.
The administration of President Joe Biden recently signed off on a request by Boeing to supply Israel with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, The Washington Post first reported on Monday. Two congressional aides familiar with the matter confirmed to Al-Monitor details of the sale proposal.
Biden administration officials informed Congress of the proposal on May 5, nearly a week before Hamas' rockets kicked off the latest conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. But the window for lawmakers in the Senate to weigh a resolution to oppose the sale has already passed.
The proposed sale has raised concerns among some House Democrats who only learned of it over the weekend, according to the Post.
